


Walk Me Home

by Kikoiku



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Last of Us (Video Games) Setting, But not explicit, Canon-Typical Violence, Game: The Last of Us Part II, Human Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Parent Gavin Reed, Please Forgive Me And Have Fun, Postapocalyptic, Protective Gavin Reed, Scars, Shared Trauma, Sort of I guess?, Trauma, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, WLF | Washington Liberation Front (The Last of Us), even worse at summaries, it's richard, outcast, seraphites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:54:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27920350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kikoiku/pseuds/Kikoiku
Summary: Gavin and Curtis had been with the WLF for the longest time. Until Gavin decides he's had enough of it, planning to leave for their own home.On the way they get separated, leading to Curtis being saved by Richard, an Outcast-Seraphite, hunted by his own peopleEven though Gavin is hostile towards him, Curtis can convince him to let Richard go with them on their long, long way home.And, well, what could happen during a global pandemic, am I right?
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28
Collections: Reed900 Reverse Big Bang





	1. After

_Day 4 Of Being On Their Own._

“Dad, can you just tell me where we are going already?” Curtis asked, a noticeable irritation in his voice. It had been raining the whole day and it didn't look like it would stop anytime soon. He was probably soaked by now, as was Gavin himself. He had every right to be irritated.

“I told you, we are going...home.”

“Yeah, but where exactly _is_ home? I thought the base was home. One family and all that shit.”

“Language.”

Gavin knew he was right. Curtis had been living at the base for most of his life. Well, not this base in particular. But the Fireflies were gone and when he overheard some of his former fellows leaving for Seattle, he decided to take the chance, thinking it was his best shot at the time.

Turned out it wasn't.

Gavin looked around the corner of the building. He knew Isaac must've increased the patrols since... _the incidents_ started to happen. He had overheard some of the platoons talk about a crazy sniper they barely escaped and two girls who took out a whole team. He knew it was his chance to leave, using the heat of the moment. They had to be careful nonetheless. He doubted they would be shot on sight, but him being this far from the base alone was unusual, to put it mildly. The “newcomers” of the city were definitely to be avoided and the Scars were a factor he didn't even want to consider right now. They hadn't entered their territory yet, but maybe he wasn't the only one taking the turmoil to his advantage.

“Okay, you don't have to answer,” he heard Curtis say impatiently. “But can you at least tell me _why_ we are leaving?”

Gavin looked over his shoulder. He was very well aware that he couldn't protect his son from the truth forever, but this wasn't the moment to discuss this. He had waited for the right moment for years, but as those moments often do, it never came. He dropped his shoulders and sighed, repeating himself, “You heard what the others said. It isn't safe.”

“Dad, I'm young, not stupid,” Curtis answered, one eyebrow raised sceptically. “We have been wandering through the city for four days. Alone. With close to no equipment to protect ourselves. I'm pretty sure the base would be safer than,” he gestured vaguely. “This.”

Gavin looked away, grinding his teeth. He wasn't a good liar, had never been. It was much easier for him to just keep information to himself. However, he wasn't good from keeping information from his son, either.

After Lydia, his wife, had died and Gavin left to join the Fireflies, he had done everything in his power to be as close to Curtis as possible. And to him that included absolute honesty. It was a promise he had made and he intended to keep it.

In situations such as this one, however, it was a nuisance.

“Dad.”

Gavin sighed again, turning towards his son, “Okay, listen. I promise we're going to talk about this. But first, we need to get out of the city, understood?”

Curtis was visibly annoyed by this outcome, but he had lived in this world long enough to know an order when he heard one. In fact, orders had been almost all he knew since he was little. _Don't go out alone._ was number one of the list. _Don't get bitten._ and _Don't die._ Right afterwards. However, _Stay at the base until I'm back._ was the most frequent one.

Sighing deeply, he accompanied his father, carefully looking around the edge of the building. The place looked abandoned – probably undefined territory. Nothing the WLF deemed as important and the Scars most likely stayed away to avoid the unnecessary confrontation that would definitely arise. Important or not, the WLF wouldn't let a part of _their_ city fall into their hands without a fight.

There weren't many places like that left in Seattle, that much Gavin had told him. Of course there are the borderlands, where there's almost constantly battles happening, both sides fighting for more territory to claim.

Curtis knew that both the Scars and the Wolves had orders to shoot on sight, no questions asked. They still wore their uniforms – if you could even call it that – making the Wolves less of a threat, he figured. Nevertheless, he noted, “You know the Scars could see us trespassing as an act of war, right?”

Gavin wasn't stupid. The thought had crossed his mind, too, but if he was completely honest, he didn't want to think about it too much. He decided to just...hope they wouldn't be noticed.

Both fronts were in everlasting conflict and none of them thought there would ever be a peaceful agreement between them, so one fight more or less wouldn't stand out much. Still, Gavin really didn't want to be caught up in the middle of a newly started fight, where both sides were still motivated to win over the other.

They definitely wouldn't get out of there nearly as quickly as he wanted.

Taking in a deep breath again, he nodded once. “Yeah, I know,” he said, tension in his voice. “That's why we are not going to let them see us.”

Checking the area one last time, he stepped forward into the high grass and stopped for a couple of moments, waiting for some kind of sign they were being targeted. When there was none, he signed for Curtis to follow him, who did so reluctantly.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his Dad. But something made him very, very afraid and Curtis wasn't so sure he wanted to find out why.

“Should we get separated,” he heard his father whisper. “There's a gas station right over there. Behind it you can find a hatch leading to a cellar. That's where we'll meet, okay?” Curtis' eyes followed the direction Gavin pointed to. He could vaguely see the outlines of a billboard in the distance and nodded once. He would be able to make it there. Hopefully.

They hadn't gone much further, when they heard a jarring whistle, before an arrow barely missed Curtis' chest. He looked up at his dad in horror, who looked into the direction the arrow came from. When Gavin looked back down, he hurriedly said, “Run!” before shoving him forward with him. Curtis did his best to keep up with his dad, knowing that if he did one small mistake they would catch up to them. He looked back to see how close they were, turning around again, when he could see their threatening silhouettes.

And suddenly his Dad was gone.

Panic settled inside his bones. He had been on his own a couple times before and always got out just fine. But this was different. This time he was alone, with no back-up. And there were at least a dozen Scars behind him. He was out of breath and couldn't think straight and- he staggered, the ground gave way under him and then he fell.

When he hit the ground on his back, the air was pressed out of his lungs and suddenly it was hard for him to breath. His chest was aching and there was a shrill ringing in his ears, through which the voices from above only reached him muffled. He couldn't tell how far away they were or if they had noticed his fall, but he had to get away from here. He turned agonizingly slowly on his stomach and lifted himself up. One hand pressed against his side, he looked around in the dark room. No spores - a good sign. Otherwise he would have been pretty fucked now.  
The room didn't provide much for orientation. A few tables, a few chairs. Somehow the whole thing reminded him of a classroom, although he could not imagine that this was a school.

At the other end of the room he could faintly make out a double door, which he hoped was not barricaded from the inside. It seemed to be his only way out. He leaned against the wall, which felt wet on his hand and drove cold into his limbs, to get to the door as fast as he could. He could hear the scars giving short whistles to each other, which he didn't understand. But he didn't need to know it, anyways. What he needed to know was that they were getting closer, and fastly so.

The path seemed endless, until he could finally look carefully through the cloudy glass windows. No spores were to be seen here either, and as it seemed, he was also spared from infected people. But the room was even darker than the one he was in, so he could not really feel safe.

However, he didn't really have a choice. He couldn't go back the way he came and he couldn't stay here. So going forward was his only option.

Carefully, he braced himself against the door, which yielded softly squeaking. It was not barricaded, but the hinges were rusty and protested. He paused briefly and listened into the night. When everything remained quiet, he ventured further forward. He now found himself in a kind of long corridor that echoed the school-flair. The floor was tiled and the wallpaper had an ugly pattern, which he could not see exactly what it was supposed to represent. Other details, however, remained hidden from his sight.

He swallowed dryly. He was uneasy about the situation. His dad had taught him that knowledge is power. The clearer you were about your situation, the better you would survive it.

Unfortunately, Curtis didn't know anything about his current situation, and he was able to count on one hand what his chances were. He preferred not to think about it.

He heard a muffled noise from the room he had just come from. When he looked back, he could make out several shadowy silhouettes moving slowly through the darkness. Unconsciously, he moved further back into the shadows of the hallway, using the wall to his right as orientation. He could make out one door on this side, two or maybe three on the opposite. Afterwards the corridor ran into nothing, impossible to see where it would lead to.

Curtis briefly weighed up which option was best for him. The door on the right was the easiest to reach, while those on the left looked like they belonged to connected rooms that could offer more hiding places. The hallway in front of him offered him darkness, but that was easily dispelled by torches and flashlights.

He heard soft whistling noises again, this time much, much closer, and decided without further ado for the room on the right.

The door opened easier than expected and closed loudly behind him.

After that it was dead silent for a few agonizing seconds. The classroom atmosphere had completely disappeared in this room. This one was obviously made for a larger crowd. The tables were lined up in long rows, with a few more stacked in the corner waiting to be used. Right next to it was another double door, which seemed to be the only way out.

When he heard the hinges of the other door squeaking, he hurried as silently as possible to get to the other side of the room. He ignored the pain that went through his side.

On the other side, he paused briefly and raised his eyebrows. In front of him was a large kitchen, larger than the one in the base. Moonlight fell through the smashed windows and blinded him unpleasantly where it was reflected by the stainless steel furniture. Gently he set one foot in front of the other. Although the kitchen was much better lit than the rest of the building, it also had more cupboards and corners and generally more hiding places for Runners and Stalkers. He doubted that Clickers or even Bloaters had made themselves comfortable here, but he decided not to rule out the possibility completely.

Curtis carefully squinted around the corner, past one of the large metal cabinets. Behind it was another confusing compartment of the kitchen, and he wondered how big this damn room could be. But back there - was that another door? With a stone wall behind it? A way out, maybe?

Breathing a sigh of relief, he sneaked ahead when he was suddenly grabbed from behind and dragged into a niche. As he tried to fight back, an arm wrapped around his torso and a hand over his mouth made it difficult for him to breathe.

"Shh, be quiet," said the voice behind him. The voice was dark and quiet, almost melodic, definitely male. There was a sense of security in it that made him calm down. Curtis knew this man could be dangerous too, but he would take care of that once he got out of here. Because just at that moment, the door he had just moved forward to opened.

Two gloomy figures crept through the door. One was a tall, hulking man with a machete in his hand. The other was much smaller, probably a woman, carrying an axe. They made silent hand signals, and this one time Curtis wished he knew what they meant.

The two of them began to search the room from two sides, separately but always close enough to come as backup for the other, if necessary. Although the two of them looked as if they had already searched hundreds of kitchens for people, Curtis couldn't help but notice that they weren't being very smart about it. They moved too fast and looked too hastily around corners and under sideboards. They did not even care about cupboards.

As the man crept past them, Curtis reflexively held his breath. One wrong move and he would spot them. But the man didn't even really care about the niche, he just walked on as if he was taking a stroll through the city.

Curtis found this abundantly inefficient.

Not much later he heard the door through which he had come open and close again. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and hurried to crawl out of his hiding place. He still didn't know who exactly was behind him and he wasn't quite sure if he really wanted to find out. He decided that now was not the right time to worry about it. He had to get to the door that led outside - at best without being seen.

He looked around the corner once more to make sure they were alone. Then he made his way, still crouched, to the exit. When he arrived outside, he breathed in the cool air, relieved. Until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked the man in the face, saw the scars and was now sure that he definitely did not want to know that man. Before Curtis could escape his grip, the man let go of him and whispered, "Come on, we're not safe yet. This way."

The stranger pointed to a group of trees to the left of them. Curtis suspected that there had to be a park here - or nature had already reclaimed this part of the city. Whatever the case, the man was probably right. So Curtis followed him carefully into the thicket.

When the man stopped, Curtis almost ran into him.

He turned around, looking at him with an eyebrow raised, “What's your name, short one?”

Curtis took a step back, remaining silent.

“Cautious one, aren't you?”

Did he really expect him to trust him?

“Okay, let's start again: Hi, my name is Richard, nice to meet you.”

Then again – he had just saved him, didn't he?

“That's usually the part, where you introduce yourself.”

He heard a certain kind of insecurity in the voice of the man in front of him. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he said, “Curtis. My name is Curtis.”

He earned himself a small smile. He watched the man – Richard – cross his arms in front of him. “Okay, Curtis,” he said, obviously strangely relieved. “I don't assume you're here on your own?”

Curtis shook his head. “I'm on my way with my dad. We were separated when we were chased by a group of Scars.”

Richard nodded silently, chewing on his lower lip. “And what was the plan in case you got separated?”

Curtis went to the edge of the small forest, or whatever it was, and searched for the billboard his father had shown him earlier. He pointed towards it, “There's a gas station not far from here. We agreed to meet there, should anything happen.”

“And I assume that's exactly what you want to do right now.”

Curtis just nodded once.

He noticed Richard fighting an internal debate. “I'd like to accompany you,” he said silently, looking back down on Curtis. “If you let me, that is. I think we could both use the extra help.”

Baffled, Curtis raised his eyebrows. He snorted. “Mate, I know you helped me in there, but how can I be sure you won't rat me out at the next best chance?”

Richard shrugged, “Right now I'm not exactly high on their _Most-Beloved-_ Ranking. I think I'm better off on my own for the moment.”

Curtis rubbed his nose in thought. Then he sighed, nodding. “Alright. We can go together. But I can't guarantee that my Dad will be thrilled by your appearance.”

There was another small smile on Richard's lips, as he answered, “I'm willing to take the risk, I guess.”

“Your choice. Let's go, then.”  
  



	2. After

_Day 3 Of Being On His Own_

Richard had been running through the city for a couple of nights now. He didn't bother counting them, since he had a pretty good feeling that it wouldn't matter anyway. They had outcast him and there was no way of turning back now. Carefully looking around, he stroked the loose strand of hair out of his eyes. His limbs ached, felt almost numb and his eyes burned with tiredness. He did not know when he had slept more than a few hours. It felt like an eternity.

He peaked around the corner of the building, into the dark side street. Everything seemed quiet here, but he knew he was not yet out of the Seraphite's realm. He would have to be careful.

As his glaze glided over the bare facades, he spotted a door that was barely noticeably open. Perhaps he could settle there for the night - given they would not discover him.

He took a deep breath, then he crept towards the entrance as quiet as possible. When he arrived there, he heard soft whistles, a few excited ones in the distance. As quickly as he could, he scurried through the door and let it fall close behind him.

He paid little attention to the kitchen he found himself in. The glow of his flashlight glided over the shiny surfaces every now and then, but he had no time to look at the furnishings. He needed a hiding place until the commotion outside had subsided. When he spotted an alcove between a couple of high cupboards, he crawled behind it.

He pulled a face as he ran into a cobweb and raised an eyebrow as an entire family of rats scurried past him. His head shot towards the kitchen when he heard a door open and close in a hurry. Too hasty to be someone looking for someone else - this was someone on the run. He looked around the corner and looked in the direction he had come from.

He saw a few shadows through the cloudy windows, but no one had entered yet.

He let his gaze wander to the other side and discovered a small figure. Even ducked, it was too small for an adult. A child, perhaps? But what would a child be doing alone in this area?

And he definitely wasn't one of the Seraphites. Which meant that he could only be a Wolf. Or a stranger, but that was highly unlikely. And he was running straight towards the others out in the alley. He sighed silently. They may not have been on the same side, but he couldn't just let a child walk into his death.

He peaked around the corner again and when the kid came by his hiding spot, he grabbed him from behind and pulled him into the niche.

The kid started struggling, but he wasn't exactly expecting him not to. „Shush,“ Richard said quietly. „I'm not going to hurt you.“ They both heard another sound when two Seraphites entered the building. Richard knew their faces, but not their names. He had seen them a couple of times during his sermons, but he couldn't remember ever speaking to them. Nevertheless they looked intimidating and they probably were.

Richard recently had to learn that the Seraphites had become something cruel, something scary. Many of them solely listened to orders of those above them without question, which made those people powerful. More powerful than him.

It was never supposed to be this way.

The two people looked determined but he couldn't help but notice that they still weren't as thorough while searching the kitchen. Either they weren't intelligent enough or they weren't properly trained to do so.

Richard kind of suspected it could be both. But it didn't matter, as long as it helped them escape.

When the Seraphites left the room, he let the kid go, who made his way out of the small space as fast as he could. When he looked back at Richard, he had this troubled expression between suspicion and gratitude on his face. „Come on, we're not safe yet,“ was all he said, before practically sprinting out of the building. „This way,“ he continued, making his way through the bushes, into the woods. He was aware that the trees were well-known territory for the Seraphites, but it was definitely safer than standing out in the streets.

When Richard turned around, the kid was much closer than he had expected, so he took a step back and looked at him. He couldn't be older than thirteen, fourteen at max.

„What's your name, short one?“ Richard said as unthreateningly as he could. He didn't know if he was successful or not. He suspected the kid would've remained silent, no matter what he said. He watched him take a step back, still on the qui vive.

“Cautious one, aren't you?”

Wasn't that surprising, really. Seraphites and Wolves had a history, and it wasn't exactly a good one.

“Okay, let's start again: Hi, my name is Richard, nice to meet you.”

Still silence. Richard wasn't good with children. He wasn't responsible for them, and while he had to interact with them regularly, he didn't have to gain their trust.

“That's usually the part, where you introduce yourself.”

He was pretty sure it was the worst joke he had ever made, but at least it got the kid to answer, “Curtis. My name is Curtis.”

“Okay, Curtis,” he said, relieved that they didn't remain in this awkward half-silence. “I don't assume you're here on your own?”

The boy shook his head. He seemed to have decided to trust him. At least a little bit. Okay, a very tiny bit, but still.

“I'm on my way with my dad,” he said. “We were separated when we were chased by a group of Scars.”

Well, that definitely made sense. The Seraphites had recently debated over claiming specific uncertain terrains for themselves. They must've stumbled upon one of them. “And what was the plan in case you got separated?” he asked. At least the kid wouldn't be on his own, once he got to find his father. Otherwise Richard didn't really know what he would've done.

He followed Curtis to the edge of the woods, looking over the scenery. He could still hear some of the whistles, but they sounded much farther away. Which was a good sign, he supposed. He looked into the direction Curtis pointed to, looking at the billboard sign of an old gas station. He listened to him saying, he would meet up with his father there.

Richard thought about it for a minute. He would be out of Scar-territory if he went there. And traveling in a group had always been safer than being on your own. He pondered back and forth, but eventually he asked, “I'd like to accompany you.” He looked down on Curtis. “If you let me, that is. I think we could both use the extra help.”

The chances of him actually getting out of the city were relatively small on his own. With two more people, however, who were probably better trained in using machine guns, his chances would be higher. The kid was the smaller problem, he figured. He seemed to begin to trust him, which would be helpful. But his father...that would be a problem. It wouldn't be easy to convince him, probably. “I'm willing to take the risk,” he said in the end, guessing that it would be all or nothing.

“Your choice. Let's go, then,” the boy said, before leading their way back into the streets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya there!
> 
> Thanks for reading the first two chapters  
> of my work!  
> It was a blast working on an RBB piece  
> and I had an amazing partner to work with.  
> Thanks for @egooppidum (on Twitter) for  
> being an absolute sweetheart during all of  
> this.  
> Her artwork will be featured in a later  
> chapter, due to spoilers.
> 
> Thanks again for reading, let me know what  
> you think!
> 
> Kiko


	3. After

_Day 5 Of Being On Their Own._

It didn't take them long to reach the meeting point Gavin and Curtis had agreed on. Curtis lead Richard behind the building. Hidden under a couple of bushes, Richard could see an old, rusty hatch, that obviously hadn't been used for a long time. Curtis opened it with a loud squeak. Richard took a look around them, almost expecting to be surrounded by either a bunch of Wolves or Seraphites. But their surroundings remained silent and so he followed the boy into the dark room.

After he had closed the hatch behind himself, he could barely see in the darkness. Still, he carefully descended the stairs, coming to a halt at the bottom. He hadn't noticed how far Curtis had already gone into the room, until he quietly called out, “Dad?”

Almost immediately there was a small light turning on. A man approached the kid from the opposite side of the room and hugged him, obviously relieved. “Jesus, kid, are you okay?”

“I'm fine, Dad,” was all he said, before gently breaking the embrace. “Partly thanks to him.” Curtis pointed towards Richard, who felt a little as if he had been ordered but never picked up. The man let his gaze wander towards the direction shown to him and furrowed his eyebrows.

“Who are you?” he asked sceptically, taking a step towards Richard. The latter knew, that he most likely could see the scars on his face. Sighing, he said, “My name is Richard. Pleasure to meet you.”

Once again, Richard did not extend his hand. The other wouldn't take it anyway. He crossed his arms in front of his chest instead.

The other man just looked at him suspiciously. “Dad,” Curtis said behind him. “He saved my life. Don't be rude.”

“I'm going to be rude all I want to strangers,” he said without taking his eyes off Richard. “What do you want?”

Richard tried to not be too offended by his behaviour. He _was_ a stranger, after all, and he couldn't say he trusted the both of them much, either. He figured, however, that it might be safer to travel as a group, wherever their paths may lead them. “The short one invited me to accompany you. He suspected it would be hard to convince you. Nevertheless, I still thought it might be worth the shot.”

The man looked back at Curtis, who just shrugged in a _Don't-Look-At-Me-Like-That-_ manner. When he turned his eyes back on Richard, he quickly said, “Excuse us for a minute.” Before grabbing the boy by the arm, taking a couple of metres distance between them.

“He's not coming with us!” he hissed at his son, seriousness bleeding into his tone. “We're _not_ going to trust a Scar walking through the city alone.”

“Dad,” Curtis murmured. “He saved my life. He could've ratted me out, but he didn't. Instead he helped bringing me here. He said he was alone and doesn't exactly desire to cross paths with his former mates again. I know we should be careful with whom we trust, but he is not a threat to us.”

“That doesn't change the fact we don't know him, Curtis. He could still be dangerous. He could've done _God-Knows-_ What. He-”

Gavin was interrupted by a soft voice, “You do realise I can still hear you?”

The father-son-duo jumped simultaneously, turning their attention back on the third man who hadn't moved an inch. “I am aware we are standing on opposite ends of the line. My people have killed enough of yours, but that's the case vice-versa. Nevertheless I decided to take the risk of being lured into a trap. Maybe it's time for you to take the risk, too.”

Gavin sceptically raised an eyebrow. “And obviously you want me to believe that you won't attack or snitch on us?”

Richard crossed his arms in front of his chest again. “The Wolves would obviously shoot me on sight. And since the Seraphites have a price on my head, as well, I'd rather avoid them. Besides – I'm not much of a soldier, so I actually don't want to fight you, if not absolutely necessary.

“And you guarantee that?”

“Jesus, Dad!” Curtis chimed in exasperated. “What do you want him to do? Take a pledge on it?”

When his father looked over his shoulder, Curtis could see that he was actually considering it. Curtis just threw an unamused look at him. He sighed. “Okay, fine,” he said. “I'll let you walk with us. But if I get suspicious of you in any way-”

“My head Is probably going to end up on the end of a stick, I understand,” Richard interrupted him once again. He took a deep breath, strangely relieved. He hadn't noticed he feared being turned away, which surprised him. He had always been open to people, even after the outbreak. However, he tended to be cautious with the few individuals he surrounded himself with, especially now that he was on his own.

But, well, he had more important things to figure out.

“So, what exactly was the plan? Curtis told me you wanted to leave the city.”

Gavin took a deep breath, “Yeah, essentially. I was trying to go low level, but I guess there has been some ruckus now.” He shot a short, worried look towards Curtis, who looked equally as concerned, before he continued, “Moving during night-time seemed safer than walking in broad daylight. We also planned to stick to the edge of the city. I thought the Scars would have it like the WLF – Less frequent patrols and all, but according to the hunt we just escaped, I stand corrected.”

“Well, do you have a map? We could go over the route you were planning to go and try to figure out our chances,” Richard answered, waiting for a reaction. It surprised him to receive a short nod, instead of snarky protest. He followed him as he turned his back on Richard, approaching a small, dusty table in the back of the room. As he passed Curtis, he heard him say, “His name is Gavin, by the way.” He looked back at the boy and smiled a little, ignoring Gavin's disapproving glare.

He watched Gavin pull out a map from a backpack next to the table. He pointed to a line that

stretched across the city, always close to the outlying district, until it met the edge in the south. “That's the route I was going for,” he explained. “And then off into the west.”

Richard nodded thoughtfully, “Let's figure it out, then.”

* * *

“That's it right there,” Richard said, pointing to a building almost right in front of them. “If we can make it through, the rest will be a piece of cake.” He hesitated for a second, before he added, “As long as they don't notice us, that is.”

They had been discussing the way they would take until the early morning hours. Now it was late afternoon and they were standing on the balcony of an abandoned building, just far enough for them not to get noticed.

Gavin had expressed his distaste against that plan, but couldn't argue that they had to make cuts in safety, if they wanted to be out of the city as soon as possible.

“Hey, Richard?” they heard Curtis say. There was something in his tone that neither of them liked. “You said this was a smaller warehouse with less security, right?” Richard furrowed his brows. He had been here only a couple of times, but he was sure of that, so he nodded. “What's this, then?”

He handed Richard the binoculars he held in his hand. “Oh shit,” he said, groaning. “They must've increased the guards due to the whole mess.”

Gavin stepped to his side. “So, what are we gonna do? Just fight our way through?”

Richard shook his head. “No. It's too many, we wouldn't make it. Besides,” he paused to look at his new companion. „If I'm really honest I don't exactly want them on my heals right now. How about we try going through the warehouse?“ Richard pointed to one of the buildings slightly to the left. „If we make it over there, we can make it out without them noticing us.“

Gavin nodded, agreeing. They would be faster if they just fought their way through, but on the other hand they'd give away that they were here in the first place, which was probably not the most intelligent thing to do. “We could also stock up a bit,” Richard added, throwing Gavin a short glance. “If you want to take the risk.”

Gavin took it into consideration. They would be better off with more ammo, if they wanted to make it through half of the country. He nodded carefully. “I hate to say it, but I think we will have to, if we want to make it further than just outside the city.”

Richard handed the binoculars to Gavin. “Let's do it, then.”

* * *

They crouched behind a car, right in front of the building they wanted to sneak into. There were four guards in front of them that they would need to avoid. “They have a pattern,” Gavin noticed. “We should have enough time to get in there, after the last one passed us.” He pointed at one of the smaller men of the group. One thing, however, bothered him. “Why exactly are there more people in the main building than protecting their stock?”

Richard sighed. “I wouldn't trust that those are the only guards they have. There might be more circulating inside.”

“And you are saying that _now_?”

“Would you have done it otherwise?”

Curtis chimed in. “Guys, we don't exactly have time right now. Can you push that off until we're out of here?”

They couldn't argue with that.

When the fourth guard turned their back on them to continue his path, they hurried into the warehouse through a door on the side.

Inside it was darker than Gavin had imagined. They stood in what he assumed used to be an office, but he doubted the Scars used it. When he followed Richard towards the door, he could see a small gleam of light falling through the flame. “There's three more guards I can see. I suspect there's more in the other rooms,” he heard Richard whisper as he came to a halt near him. “We need to get over there,” he continued, pointing into the direction he was referring to. “We should find everything we need there. You see these three shelves?”

Gavin leaned forward a bit, to have a better view. He could see the guards Richard had mentioned now, but also the shelves in the other room. Gavin nodded once.

“There should be a door behind them. It's an emergency exit that should be able to open at any time. That's our way out. There's only a couple more blocks, until we reach the forest. They won't follow us afterwards. But we have to be careful – I'm pretty sure, there will be more guards outside.”

“Okay,” Gavin answered, swallowing hard. “Lead the way, then. I'll go last.”

They made their way through the warehouse as quietly as they could. It was easier than expected to make it past the guards, but neither of them underestimated them. One false step and they would be in massive trouble.

When they reached the second hall of the warehouse, Gavin was relieved to see the guards standing with their back turned on them at the other end of the room. All three of them started to scan the shelves for useful equipment, shoving into their backpacks what they could.

Suddenly, they heard loud noises from outside, hectic voices shouting over the area. Richard looked at Gavin, “Take what you have and then run.”

And run they did.

When they stepped out of the line of blocks, they stopped in their tracks, looking back. “They didn't follow us, did they?” Curtis whispered, fear still lingering in his voice.

Richard shook his head. “I don't think so. We would've heard them otherwise,” he answered, somewhat out of breath. “Still, we should get as many miles between us and the city as possible, before night falls.”


	4. After

[ ](https://twitter.com/egooppidum?s=20)

They had been walking for a couple more hours, until they finally stopped when they reached a small cabin in the depth of the woods. Or, well, the rest of what had been a cabin once. Gavin already felt better, knowing the Scars wouldn't follow them here – at least that's what Richard said – and with no clue where to start, the Wolves wouldn't be a problem anymore, either.

The pathetic remains of the cabin consisted of about three wooden beams, a decaying couch that had been affected greatly by storm and rain. It wouldn't give them a lot of protection, but Gavin felt better, knowing this cabin had been hidden enough that nobody had used it as shelter. For a brief moment Gavin wondered who had lived here. Not far enough from the city to call it a hermit, but not close enough to belong to the suburbs.

But he figured it wasn't that important. At least not anymore.

The stars were sparkling above them as Gavin looked into the flames of the fire he had made not so long ago, as Richard sat next to him, offering him a cup, that he gladly took.

“So,” Richard said quietly. “Am I allowed to ask, what lead you here?”

Gavin should've been annoyed by the question. Richard was not only a stranger, he was also a Scar. Both things Gavin had learned to stay away from. But the opposite was the case: He was glad, that there was some noise. The forest had been awfully quiet since they left the city. The cracking of the fire and Curtis' deep breaths as he was sleeping next to him barely a distraction from the thoughts on his mind.

Still, he took a minute, considering how much he should expose. Then he sighed. “I'm trying to get back to our home. A small city in the middle of nowhere.” He took a sip from his cup, cursing as he burned his tongue.

He heard Richard chuckling beside him. He shot him a semi-unamused glance. “You wanna hear the story or you wanna laugh at me?” He wasn't really mad. Still, no reason to make him believe otherwise.

“Excuse me,” Richard said, smirking. “Please, continue.”

“Well,” Gavin continued, suddenly serious again. “We were living relatively...secure. Shortly after the first cases were announced on the media, someone had the city build a wall. Then they organised patrols, that would check out the surrounding areas. We built an order, a...daily routine, that worked for a long time. It was almost...normal. Or at least a new kind of it.” He shrugged, while staring into the fire.

“Me and my wife usually teamed up for patrols. But when we had Curtis,” he paused for a moment, looking at his son. He reached out to him, running his fingers through his hair, before turning back to Richard. “When we had Curtis, we took turns, so one of us could always be with him or at least at arm's reach, should anything happen.”

He cleared his throat, talking past a lump that had build itself somewhere in between.

“One day she and her partner were attacked by a particularly big bunch of infected. My wife came back. Her companion didn't.”

Gavin took a deep breath, turning the cup in his hands. “She wasn't aware she had been infected. Or if she was, she didn't tell us. Otherwise, we would've taken action immediately.”

He swallowed dryly, barely able to finish the story.

“The next morning I had to shoot her. Curtis was four.”

Afterwards it was silent again for a while, both men caught up in their own thoughts. Gavin didn't like his own backstory. For the most part he stored it somewhere in the back of his mind, where not even his dreams could find it. But he couldn't deny the fact that it was his main motivation to go back home. He hadn't seen the place for almost a decade, but something in his heart told him, that it was still safe. And he wanted safe. For Curtis. And for himself.

“Well, I'm not really sure what to say to that,” Richard broke the silence quietly. “But I'm very sorry.”

Gavin blinked the tears away that were lingering in the corners of his eyes. “Well, the past is the past,” he said with a raspy voice. “Not too long after the incident I heard of the Fireflies from a few passer-bys. I joined them in hopes they would find a cure one day. And when they were wiped out, I followed some of my former mates and ended up with the WLF.”

“You obviously had to walk a long way and got dragged through a lot of mud,” Richard answered. “I wish for you to find peace at last.”

Gavin smirked at his words. “Just wishing? No praying?”

“I know you don't believe in the same as I do,” Richard said, chuckling slightly. “I figured praying wouldn't mean much to you.”

“You're right on that. But I appreciate the gesture.” Gavin took another sip from his cup. “Speaking of which – what happened to you? I always had the impression that, you know, the Scars being one big unit, sticking together.”

Now it was Richard's turn to sigh. “Everyone has faults, Gavin, and so do the ideals they follow.” He put down the cup next to his feet, crossing his fingers. “You, me, the WLF, the Seraphites. None of us are free of failure.” He laid his head to the side. “I had to realize, however, that my church is more rotten than I thought it would ever be.”

Gavin put his cup next to Richard's, choosing his words carefully. “I never really believed in anything...holy. But I know what it feels like to have your worldview shaken to the core. And it's a pity you had to experience that.”

Richard started laughing slightly, shaking his head. “Never expected this much empathy from a Wolf.”

“Hey!” Gavin said, acting scandalized. “We are not all heartless monsters.”

Together they laughed softly, easing the situation. “However,” Gavin said in the end. “You didn't give me a real answer.”

“Dammit,” Richard hissed. “Should've known you'd catch up on that.” He hesitated, before saying, “Long story short? I'm gay.”

Gavin raised his eyebrows in disbelief, then furrowed them in slight irritation. “They cast you out for fancying man?” Richard nodded once, short but serious. Gavin shook his head, “How narrow-minded can you be? That's ridiculous.”

“Oh well,” Richard sighed, only half-mockingly. “There goes the empathy.” He shot Gavin a suspicious, side-eyed glance. “You're definitely taking it better than them, though.”

“I don't really see the advantage in hating someone for something they are incapable of controlling. Barely anyone is at home, even though one might not believe it. There was an LGBT Organisation before the outbreak. Attended a few weddings afterwards, went on a few dates with guys.” He shrugged, indifferent. “It just doesn't make sense.”

Richard sighed deeply again, sadder this time. “It was never supposed to be this way, you know?” He leaned back, putting his hands behind him, to support himself. “We were supposed to be a remedy, a help. A guiding light for the scared and the broken, the lost. We were supposed to be accepting, a safe haven for everyone.” He shook his head for a moment. “But after our leader died, something evil wormed itself in between us, twisting what we were supposed to be.” A frustrated, deeply disappointed tone left his throat. “I realized it too late and couldn't do anything against it. So I had to leave, for my own safety.”

Gavin nodded, understanding. “And now you want to travel with us?”

“That would be my best chance, yes. If you let me, that is.”

Gavin overthought the whole thing. He listened to something deep inside himself. Did he trust him? No. Not completely, at least. But something told him, that the man beside him, wouldn't be much of a threat to them. “Mhm,” he said after a long moment, nodding. “Alright. We'll take you with us.”

Richard smiled, a dozen worries lifting off his shoulders. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya there!
> 
> Look at that amazing artwork that I'm SO  
> glad I get to share it with you!  
> I'm absolutely baffled by the absolute beauty  
> of it, I can't express it.  
> Again, a huge thanks to @egooppidum (on   
> Twitter) for being such an amazing partner.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapters!  
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Kiko.


	5. Before

Nadya was leaving the house through the back door. The garden wasn't really big, but she could see the lake from her living room window and that was all it needed to redeem that fact. She smiled as she walked over to the little boy in the sandbox, picking him up. The small guy protested, pouting. She laughed and brushed some of the sand out of his hair with her fingers.

“Come on, sweetheart. It's time to meet up with your daddy.”

She went past their house, out on the street. It was warm today, the last hints of the past winter finally gone. Nadya loved that kind of weather. It promised new beginnings and hopeful days. And hope was what they needed these days, no matter how small it might be.

She went past the pub, heading towards the stables, where she already saw Gavin in front of it. When he spotted them, a genuinely happy smile appeared on his face. He jogged towards them, greeting Nadya with a kiss and then taking Curtis from her arms. “So, how much trouble did you make today?” he asked, smiling at him.

“Not that much,” Nadya answered on his behalf. “He wanted to make a desert out of our garden, but otherwise he has been peaceful like a sheep.”

“That's good to hear,” Gavin answered. “Who are you with today?”

His wife sighed, “Valerie it's gonna be. She's probably sick of Erin's info-dumping.”

“You're probably not wrong on that one,” he chuckled. “I think he doesn't get the hint.”

“Oof, he probably never will,” she answered, placing her hands on her hips. “Maybe she has to be brutally honest with him.”

Gavin looked at her, an eyebrow raised: “Brutally honest as in _Tell Him Without Metaphors_ , or-”

She shook her head and made a grimace. “Brutally honest as in slapping him and telling him she has been banging Tina for a month.”

They laughed together. “Yeah,” said Gavin, at least a bit serious. “He's probably not gonna understand it otherwise.” He looked at someone behind Nadya. “Look, there she is already.”

When Nadya turned around, Valerie raised a hand to wave them, quickening her pace. Coming to a halt beside them, she was barely out of breath. “Hello, hello,” she said, grinning. “How is my favourite small human today?” she asked, taking Curtis' hand as if she were to shake it. The boy started laughing at his godmother's behaviour. Grinning, she turned around to Nadya. “So, ready to go?”

Nadya nodded. If they started their patrol early, maybe they could be home earlier. That would be nice. She kissed both of her man one last goodbye, then she went on her way with Valerie.

* * *

Gavin was looking out into the night. Curtis was fast asleep in his bed upstairs, the only sound that interrupted the quiet atmosphere was the ticking on the clock above his head. He had tried to distract himself with a dozen things, but now the worry was worming itself into his head again. Nadya and Valerie should've been back hours ago. The nightshift had already gone on their patrol and promised to search for them, but that didn't calm the storm in his mind.

Maya had promised to inform him, as soon as they would be back, but he didn't want to know what to do, if they hadn't found them. It was no use to search for them in the dark, he knew that. But he wouldn't be able to wait until the next morning, that much he knew.

Suddenly, there was a harsh, urgent knock on his door. When he went to open the door, Maya stood in front of him, kneeding her hands. “She's in the hospital,” she blurted out.

Gavin looked at her, looked into the house behind him, looked at her again. “I- you-” he took a deep breath, starting again. “Could you keep an eye on Curtis?” Maya nodded hastily, stepping aside to leave him through, before entering the house and shutting the door.

The hospital wasn't actually a hospital. There was a hotel that was newly build shortly before the outbreak. No families had lived there yet and so decided to make it a makeshift-hospital. He entered the building, seeing Erin standing in the front hall, talking to the patrol that had just returned. Erin had been working at the hospital for only a year now, but he knew what was going on at all times. When Erin saw him, he jogged over to him, grabbing him by the forearm.

“She is awake,” he said. “But she's exhausted.”

They hurried to get to her and when she saw Gavin, she smiled weakly. He sat down on the wooden stool beside her, taking her hand, pressing a kiss on her knuckles. “What happened?” he asked with a raspy voice.

She furrowed her eyebrows, obviously in pain. “I and Valerie,” she said slowly, pausing for a minute. “We took the route along the lake. Where those small vacation cabins are.” She had to think for a second, still a bit disoriented. “The main building...there were suddenly so many of them and we...I trapped them in the basement. Hopefully.” She looked up at Gavin, tears in her eyes. “I think Valerie didn't make it.”

Gavin looked up at Erin, who silently shook his head and then sighed. “From what we can tell she has a few scratches and probably a concussion. She should be fine in a couple of days, but she needs to rest until then.”

Gavin nodded, understanding.

“Gavin?” he heard Nadya say silently. “I want to go home.”

“I know, love,” he answered, still looking up at Erin. “Can I take her with me?”

He seemed to think it through for a second, but nodded in the end. “I think she can rest in her own bed. But you have to make sure that she actually does. We both know, how she can be.”

He laughed quickly, trying to ease the situation. But he knew it was to no use. “I'll get the paperwork.”

* * *

Gavin had taken Nadya home carefully. He had thanked Maya for having an eye on Curtis, who had slept through the whole ordeal. It was better this way. He would've been confused and worried to see his mom like that, especially at night, after she hadn't been home to kiss him good night. Gavin had to promise him she would kiss him awake tomorrow, only then the boy had agreed on going to bed.

When he woke up the next day, the sun was already beginning to rise and he knew, something was wrong. He turned around to Nadya's side of the bed to find it empty. He furrowed his brows. His wife was not really a morning person, unless she had something important to do – which she didn't. She had a concussion and was supposed to rest. She never missed an opportunity to sleep in and this was the ultimate opportunity for her.

He got out of bed and silently made his way out of the bedroom. He didn't want to wake Curtis, in case nothing was wrong and Nadya had just gotten up to get herself some water.

Somehow he had the feeling that this wasn't it.

He walked down the stairs, listening to every sound the house made. There was something that shouldn't be here and it made his heart sink.

When he turned into the kitchen, Nadya stood by the kitchen sink, her back towards him.

“Nadya?” he called out silently. Something about her posture was off, that made his blood run cold. When she turned around quickly, he froze. The first thing he noticed, where here bloodshot eyes, then the dark veins under her skin. This was most definitely not his wife.

Or at least not anymore.

And yet, when she started to run towards him, he had to force himself to move. His brain was thinking too slow and too panicked all at once, trying to figure out what to do.

In the end, he knew it all the same.

He hoped she wouldn't change her path, as he hurried into the living room, where he had left his gun the previous evening. He had planned to put it away, so that Curtis couldn't accidentally find it, but had forgotten about it in between the events that happened.

He opened the door and looked around frantically, until he spotted his gun lying on the table in front of the small couch.

He ran up to it, took the gun, then there was a shot ringing in his ears, before he heard Curtis calling out for his mom.

It was over.


	6. Before

Richard went into the small building, lighting candles on his way. He looked up at the high ceiling, smiling satisfied. He was happy to finally be in a church again – a real church, not one of the makeshift ones in one of the run-down buildings. He had been in many of them – too many, to count them all – and not a single one had held what was promised.

Walking along a church corridor, watched by the saints who were shown in the mosaic windows...it was a different feeling. Something less apocalyptic and more...holy. He felt at ease here, more connected to his beliefs than he ever could elsewhere.

Richard was surprised that the building had almost avoided any sign of damage. It stood there, in midst of a gorge of houses, as if not worthy of anyone's attention. It was found and they had brought him here and he was thankful for that. But something was still bothering him, gnawing at the back of his mind, like a parasite.

He sighed. A sad feeling washed over him once again. Slowly he had to realise that as their institutions changed, so did the morals of his people, the ones he was supposed to guide. He thought that maybe, with this church, something he put a lot of trust in, he would be able to find back to their roots and take the people under his watch with him.

Though the flame of hope was small, it was still there.

He softly touched an arm of the wooden bench beside him. He remembered the beginnings of his beliefs, which were called a church by his people, and as a cult by outsiders. Up until now he had thought they were over-exaggerating, simply not understanding the connection they had with each other.

But when he saw what was done to those who didn't agree with them – he wasn't so sure anymore.

So far he never had to question his lifestyle and the individuals he supported. It was set in stone, a pillar he could lean onto during hard times. His people seemed to have forgotten their path. And now he didn't know where to turn to for guidance.

He closed his eyes, praying to whoever listened, asking for some help along his way. A light, that would give him answers, give him security.

But the walls and the saints remained silent.

His thoughts were interrupted, when he heard unpleasant voices outside. They sounded angry, full of hatred and strangely – pain, too. Furrowing his brows, he went outside, wondering what this was about.

A group of people approached him, forming a circle. Richard recognized a couple of them from his sermons, but he couldn't put a name to any of them. Two men were holding another tightly in their grip, as if he would escape any moment. It was painful to watch.

They came to a halt in front of Richard, pushing the man in front of him. He fell to his knees, not daring to look up at him. When Richard looked into the faces of the group, he found nothing but disgust in them.

“What is going on here?” he asked, helping the man in front of him to his feet. He still didn't dare to look Richard in the eyes. He didn't look anywhere but the ground, in fact.

“This man is a burden on our community,” said a tall woman in the back of the group. She was almost hissing the words, as if they were acid in her mouth.

He looked around, slightly confused. “Let's get inside,” he proposed in the end, leading the way, before receiving an answer.

When they stepped into the church, he could witness them getting quieter. He had hoped, they would react this way. A calm mind is all they needed more of.

“Now, explain yourself.”

“We have seen him,” said a quiet voice in the background.

“Seen him with another man,” added a darker voice, when Richard raised an eyebrow in question. “He has no business here.”

Richard retreated confused, subconsciously placing himself between the group and the man behind him.

“So?” he said after a short pause. “What am I supposed to do with him?”

“Send him away,” suggested a short man in the front row. Richard had known him as a reasonable person. This behaviour surprised him.

“I want his head on a stick,” said one last voice.

Richard asked himself, when his community had come to this. Being exclusive, something you had to earn. And if you weren't the right way, well, they came for your head.

“You want to cast him out for preferring men over women? Want to end his life for love?”

They looked him in the eyes, unfazed. There was nothing apologetic in their eyes, only certainty. “Yes,” said one of the ones in the back, a boy, younger than any of them.

Richard looked at him, narrowing his eyes. “And why is that?” he asked, folding his hands in front of himself.

The group looked at each other. He didn't know if they were at a loss for words or if they had assumed he would simply oblige to what they demanded of him. There had been a time when they did whatever _he_ wanted, after all. Surprised by his own thoughts, he wondered if he had always seen himself above everyone else.

“It isn't _normal_ ,” the woman right in front of him spit out. “It shouldn't be.”

“I can't imagine this would've been in _her_ will,” chimed another in.

Richard held his chin high, hoping to radiate some kind of authority that could stop the mob.

“Who are you to say, what _she_ would've wanted?”

Silence.

“Would you cast out anyone for being deviant from the norm? Even yourself? Even me?”

They looked at each other, as if someone had just shaken their worldview. Richard took the chance to subtly put himself between the group and the man behind him.

“Decide quickly,” he said, taking small steps back. “Because if being gay is such a crime for you, that he can no longer be one of ours,” he continued nervously, but determined. “Then so do I.”

And then all hell broke loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya there!
> 
> So two shorter chapters this time, but I  
> hope you liked the backstories.  
> The next chapter is definitely going to  
> be longer and the story will already  
> come to an end by then.
> 
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Kiko.


	7. After

_Day 6 Of Being On Their Own_

“And we really can't walk down on the street?” Curtis asked, almost stumbling over a loose root. “I'm breaking my legs over here.”

They had been walking through the thicket for what Curtis thought must've been an eternity. He didn't mind the long walks, but he definitely minded the endless stumbling over roots or rocks or whatever got in his way, not to mention the cobwebs in his hair. He had never thought of himself to live a luxurious life, but compared to this, the WLF's basis seemed like a palace.

“You'll be fine,” Gavin answered, looking back. “Down there we're too vulnerable. There might be infected, hiding in the high grass.” He hesitated and cocked his head quickly. “Or worse.”

Curtis looked up at him, eyebrows raised. “Worse.”

“Humans,” Richard chimed in from behind him, nudging him forward. “They use the infected as a convenient cover in hopes to drive them directly into their arms. The Seraphites use that tactic constantly.” Richard shrugged one of his shoulders. “Sooo, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't encounter either, if I had the choice.”

Curtis swallowed dryly, nodding once in agreement. “Yeah, definitely. Besides, walking through the trees is kinda refreshing, isn't it? Feels so therapeutic!”

Richard and Gavin watched Curtis with equally amused smiles, as he walked right past them giddy and joyful, as if he just had the time of his life.

* * *

_Day 11 Of Being On Their Own_

“Sometimes I feel like rain is all there is these days,” Gavin murmured while lying down on the blanket. It had been raining for a couple of days now and it had slowed them down to a frustrating point. When they had spotted the hut – _it actually seems more like a shed,_ Gavin thought – just outside a smaller village, Gavin couldn't possibly express how happy he was about that small, pathetic piece of wood in between a group of trees.

They had debated in staying in one of the houses down the hill when they had passed through, but had decided against it. They (mostly Gavin) didn't want to take the risk of being exposed to danger at night.

Gavin looked at Curtis, who was already fast asleep next to him, running a hand gently through his hair. He hadn't complained even a bit about the circumstances, but Gavin knew he was just as glad to sleep in a dry, mostly safe environment for once.

“Well,” he heard Richard answer, who was sitting down against the wall to his left. He leaned his head against the cupboard they had used to barricade the rusty door, his backpack somewhere beside him. “You know what they say-”

“Am I getting some priest-pep talk now?” Gavin interrupted him with a grin, while he shoved his jacket under his head as a makeshift-pillow.

“Hey!” Richard exclaimed, kicking him without real force. “If you don't want my endless wisdom, I can very well keep it to myself.” He threw one leg over the other and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Oh no,” Gavin said semi-theatrically, “Please, share your knowledge with me. We don't want me to die an idiot, don't we?”

“Well, I can't guarantee to reverse that process,” he dodged a small twig that Gavin threw into his direction, “But it can't rain all the time, Gavin. Luck will come to those who wait and endure the times that strain on them.”

“That sounds like something out of a fortune-cookie.”

“That sounds like something that should make you go to sleep,” Curtis interrupted their conversation with a disapproving groan.

The two men laughed amused, but obliged and fell asleep to the sound of rain pelting against the window.

* * *

_Day 15 Of Being On Their Own_

It had finally stopped raining and they had continued their way on a happier energy. Richard felt lighter with every step they put between themselves and Seattle, which surprised him. He had lived in the city for basically all of his live, taking the occasional vacations aside, he barely ever left it. But now he noticed that he should've done this ages ago.

They had rested for a bit about half an hour ago, but he could hear Curtis muttering unamused under his breath already. “What's wrong, shorty?” he asked him, nudging him on the shoulder.

“Oh, nothing,” Curtis answered, little convincing. Richard threw him a piercing look, hoping to get something out of him. He watched the younger sigh deeply. “I'm just. Sick of all this walking. I feel like I haven't slept properly in ages and my back hurts like hell. And I'm _young_ , like…How do old people do it?”

He looked up at Richard with a cheeky grin that made Richard gasp theatrically. “Are you calling _me_ old? May I remind you, _infant_ , how I, an old dodderer, single-handedly saved your life in a very dangerous situation?”

“Oh, of course, wise man, I apologize! Can you forgive me, a mere toddler, in my foolish ways?”

“I will be gracious only this once, small friend,” Richard answered jokingly, laughing afterwards. “Come on, don't let your old man wait.”

“So, now we're calling others old again?”

“You can't prove I ever said that.”

* * *

_Day 24 Of Being On Their Own_

“So you never really left Seattle?” Curtis asked Richard, not quite wanting to believe him. The fire was crackling between them and Curtis enjoyed the feeling of being dry again. They had to cross a bridge earlier that day and _of course_ it had broken directly under Curtis, sending him into the filthiest mud-water he had encountered in a while.

“Well, me and my father always spent a week with several relatives every summer, but that's about it. Something always got in the way – mostly school or my parent's work – and then the outbreak happened and traveling was out of the picture,” Richard told him as if it wasn't a big deal. And it wasn't. When he was a kid, he always mourned not being able to travel as much as his classmates and friends, but by now he had noticed that there were more important things.

Staying alive, for example.

“That must've _sucked_ ,” Curtis exclaimed, leaning back, resting on his hands.

Gavin laughed as he let himself fall next to his son, some more firewood in his hands. “Very eloquent, Curtis.”

His son threw some dirt at him, but Gavin didn't seem to mind. He simply returned the gesture, making them even again. That's how a lot of things between these two worked, Richard noticed. They never stayed on one side, always remaining in an equal state.

“When I was a kid I thought that, too,” Richard finally said while taking some dried meat from Gavin and thanking him. They had gotten it out of a pretty well-stocked cellar in the last village they passed through. They had wondered how no one had found it so far, taken what they needed and left as fast as they could. If someone was protecting that stuff, they'd rather not encounter them.

“Everyone always had such great stories to tell when school started, when I didn't really. But it started bothering me less over the years. Probably because there's bigger problems right now. And besides,” Richard took a sip from his almost empty cup. “I don't know about you, but I like how the world looks right now. Not the infected, of course. But it's fascinating how fast nature claims back what was hers.”

“Huh,” Gavin said, pondering. “Never thought of it that way, honestly.”

“Well,” Richard answered, “I guess it's hard focusing on something's beauty while being constantly reminded how bad everything is that led us here.”

Afterwards it was quiet for a while. They enjoyed each other's company for a bit, tried to find some peace in a hectic world. That wasn't much different to the days before the outbreak. It had been just as hectic, even though the kind of pressure they were put under was a different one.

“Hey, Richard,” Curtis finally broke the silence. “Can I ask you, what living with the Scars was like?”

Richard smiled. “Of course you can,” he said. “It's not all bad memories, you know?” And Richard meant it. Even though the story didn't end well, he had liked his position. He was able to change something, even though it was only a small handful of people.

“The Seraphites are just as much a unit as the Wolves are,” he explained, shifting into a more comfortable position. “I didn't know everyone by face and name, but we didn't have to. We all knew how our community functions – or at least I thought we all did – and some of us saw each other as family even.”

He sighed, furrowing his brows. “My position as a priest, made me a bit of a loner. Someone you only saw at sermons or when you needed advice. I wasn't supposed to involve myself with the people in my charge too much, in order to have a neutral view on conflicts.”

Breathing in, he continued, “But it never bothered me. I was able to help people. To give them peace and something to hold onto. Nobody was ever really alone and I know you might not understand our beliefs, but they help people to get through…whatever it is they are facing. It's not all good, nothing ever really is. But it's not as bad as the WLF wants to make you believe – at least it wasn't in the beginning.”

Curtis nodded, deep in thought. “I can't say I understand what you believe in and how you can believe in it in the first place, but…maybe I have a lot left to learn.”

“I think you're not the only one,” Gavin added thoughtfully. As Richard turned to look at him, he saw Gavin looking right at him, as if he had just discovered something earth-shaking. But then Curtis pushed the conversation into another direction and the moment had passed.

* * *

_Day 26 Of Being On Their Own_

“Gavin, don't you fucking dare!”

Richard was standing at the end of the bridge, already safely on land, both hands raised in defense. He saw Curtis cackling with laughter at the opposite shore. The boy had refused to go anything but last, for he “would definitely not land in the water again and if you fall first, I know where not to step this time”, which was, well, a fair point in Richard's opinion.

How unfortunate, somehow, that Gavin was too self-assured when Richard crossed the bridge without further ado to watch his step correctly and promptly fell into the admittedly surprisingly clear water.

When Gavin had appeared on the surface, the expression he made was material for a dozen endless nights of laughter, but Gavin didn't exactly look happy with that thought. He had thrown both of them the angriest look he could muster while looking like a wet raccoon, but to no use – the damage had already been done.

“Yeah, yeah, would you two stop laughing now?” was all he had said, while swimming up to where Richard was standing. He looked up at the other man, as if he was about to pull him into the water by his foot, and Richard had taken a couple of cautious steps back. For the first time in weeks he didn't trust the look in Gavin's eyes.

“Chill,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I'm not going to hurt you. But I need some help getting out of here.”

Gavin raised his hand up to him, awaiting some help. Richard looked back and forth between Curtis – who was shaking his head at an alarming speed – and Gavin, who was still waiting to be pulled upwards.

“You promise you won't hurt me?” Richard asked uncertainly, but already took a few steps forward.

“Promise,” Gavin answered calmly, wiggling his fingers slightly.

“Don't make me regret this,” Richard warned him, taking his hand.

But right as he wanted to pull Gavin up, the latter pulled him down, straight into the water. When he came back up, he looked just as silly as Gavin had just a couple of minutes ago. Richard pushed some water into Gavin's direction. “You're an absolute asshole.”

“Hey! You were the one laughing.”

Richard didn't know what he should say to that, so he just pushed another gush of water in his face. “Come on,” he said afterwards. “Let's get out of here.”

* * *

_Day 31 Of Being On Their Own_

“What are you thinking?” Gavin asked, sitting down next to Richard. The other man had been awfully quiet today, even more so than usual.

Richard looked at him, smiling sadly. Gavin noticed it was the saddest smile he had seen from him so far. He didn't like that smile. “My mom died shortly after the outbreak. She had been one of the first to be infected in Seattle,” he said with a raspy voice. “Today would've been her birthday.”

“I'm sorry to hear that, mate,” was all Gavin could answer. Someone mourning a relative had been all too present these days. Nowadays it was a normality that shouldn't have become a normality in the first place. Because no matter how long they had been gone already, it wasn't going to get easier to lose a loved one. “You two were close?”

Richard nodded, “Very.” He paused for a second, not certain if he should elaborate further.

“You can talk about her, you know?” Gavin suggested. “If you want to, I mean.”

Richard huffed. “Thanks.” There was another pause that Gavin felt was way too long and to awkward, before Richard spoke again. “My dad was away from home a lot, due to his work. So it was just me and my mom. We had to work together to manage the whole thing somehow.” He had to clear his throat for a second, before he could continue.

“When one of us had birthday,” he continued with a smile. It was a happier one this time, but Gavin could see a hurtful kind of melancholy within it. “We would sit at home, together on the couch. With ice cream, literal tons of it. We'd put on one of these stupid reality-shows and if we had enough, we'd get out the old SingStar discs and torment our neighbours.”

“I'm sure you have a beautiful singing voice,” Gavin interrupted him, trying to make a joke. He decided it was worth the risk of being inconsiderate, if he could make Richard laugh just a little bit. Still, he was surprised (and somewhat proud of himself) as he heard a small chuckle coming from Richard.

“Heaven's, no!” he exclaimed, obviously enjoying that part of the memories he decided to share. “We sang obnoxiously loud and tremendously off-key. After the second year of having the cops over, we distributed earplugs to every neighbour who had to listen to us beforehand.”

Gavin laughed with him for a second, glad that Richard could find something hilarious to remember, instead of dreading nostalgia.

“We would sing, until our throats were hoarse,” Richard continued, “and when it was midnight, we always went out on the balcony, screaming as loud as we could. I was always looking forward to those nights. I know it sounds stupid, but I felt…special on those nights. Like someone straight out of a movie.”

“It doesn't sound stupid,” Gavin chimed in immediately. “It actually sounds magical.”

Richard laughed softly. “Thank you. For listening.”

“Always, mate.”

Gavin looked into the nightsky, where the moon shone bright upon them.

“Not to destroy the mood,” he said, throwing an apologetic look at Richard. “But we should get some sleep. It has been a long day.”

Richard nodded.

“It has indeed.”

* * *

_Day 39 Of Being On Their Own_

“What's the first thing you're gonna do, once you're back?” Richard asked into the silence, while they were walking along the desire path they had found in-between a group of trees.

“Well,” Gavin said, wrinkling his brows in thought. “I guess someone will drag me around to basically everyone I knew before we left. And that someone will probably be Maya. Maybe Tina. Depends on whom of the two notices me first.”

“They were friends, I assume?” Richard stated. It wasn't really a question, but he wanted to keep the conversation going.

“Oh, yeah, definitely!” Gavin answered, a happy smile on his face. “The best I ever had, if I think about it.” He shrugged. “Maya was always glad to help out with Curtis if me and Nadya wanted a free evening. And Tina was almost always around, after she-” he took a deep breath. “After she died.” He almost stumbled over his own words, as he pressed them out.

“It sounds like you missed them a lot,” Richard threw in, hoping to bring the conversation to happier memories.

“Of course,” Gavin said, that smile appearing on his face again. Richard noticed that he looked younger with it, and thought that it must be a glimpse of the Gavin who had lived before this whole apocalypse happened. He wished, he could've seen him back then, somehow.

“Maya always liked to talk and Tina is always keen on meeting new people. If their taste in humans hasn't changed, I think they will like you.”

Richard laughed, “Well, that's definitely a relief.”

“What are you two talking about?” Curtis asked, when they caught up to him. Richard hadn't noticed he stopped in his tracks, when the distance between them became too big.

“I just asked your dad what his first action will be, once we arrive at your destination.”

Curtis threw his head back with a groan, saying, “Damn, sleeping in a bed feels like heaven.” He paused, squinting at Gavin sceptically. “They do have beds there, right?”

Gavin snorted amused. “We had a house, there, Curtis. With beds in them. While much might have changed, I doubt that would be included.”

“Oh, right,” Curtis said, kind of looking as if he was questioning his sanity. “Well, then,” he continued, looking up to the older men in front of him. “I guess taking a fifteen-hour-nap seems like an adequate act, don't you think?” he said, before turning around and going on his merry way.

Richard wouldn't say it out loud, but he agreed.

* * *

_Day 42 Of Being On Their Own._

They looked down on the city, wondering how long they'd need to get through it. Gavin had hoped they could find a way around it, but they had already lost a couple of days walking around another town and they didn't want to waste more time. This city, however, was bigger than the last one and therefore, Gavin figured, there would be a lot more infected and definitely more humans in it. The infected he could work with. Humans were a different thing.

So far they had done a brilliant job avoiding both of it. They tried to stay as for from civilization as possible and it had paid off – the only people they had met were travelers, just like them, and they hadn't been a threat to them. Gavin hadn't expected many infected, since they seemed to gather in or around cities. Simply where a lot of humans had been during the outbreak.

“Where are we on the map?” he asked, looking at Richard, who had crouched in front of his backpack.

He whipped out the map, searching for the city. “We're here,” he pointed towards a little red dot. “So about halfway there.”

Gavin sighed. He looked up at the horizon, where the sun had begun to set. “We should get going,” he said with a serious tone. “Maybe we can use the night again to get as far as possible.”

“But we're also more likely to miss our opponents, should we encounter some,” Richard objected.

“Does it really matter?” Curtis threw in, stepping to their sides. “No matter what time of day, we're in trouble. I'd just like to know if I can sleep tonight or not – preferably before night falls.”

They both looked at Gavin, an eyebrow raised. He groaned, “Fine! We're gonna search for something to stay the night. But we're gone as soon as the sun comes up.”

Richard and Curtis nodded, secretly giving each other a silent high five, after Gavin had turned his back on them to head to the city.

\----------

They had found an abandoned guest house not too far into the city. It must've been a beautiful area once. And in some way it still was. There were trees growing everywhere, some in neat rows, while others had started to grow between them, reckless and intransigent.

Some of the houses were surrounded by unruly hedges and Gavin could see that some of them had tried to start their own garden, planting various types of vegetables. Most of the once surely cozy homes had smashed windows, and moss and ivy were making its way inside of them.

They would never be a home to anyone again.

Gavin had just finished barricading the door properly, as an old pillow hit his back. It was a bit moldy and honestly felt overall disgusting, but when he turned around and saw his son smiling, he couldn't really be mad. He just shook his head, taking the pillow off the ground and threw it back into his direction. “Cut it out, Curtis,” he said, a serious note in his voice. “You should eat something and then go to sleep. Going through a city like this isn't exactly a piece of cake.”

He walked up to one of the large windows, peeking through a torn up curtain. Everything was peaceful and quiet at the moment, but Gavin didn't count on it. It wouldn't hurt to be extra cautious.

“Okay, fine,” Curtis said, jumping off the half-rotten bed. “But you should get some rest, too. You being sleep deprived won't help any of us.”

“Don't worry,” Gavin answered. “I'm fine.”

Curtis huffed, “Yeah, sure.” But he left it at that. He didn't want to argue with his father right now, and he was right in a way. Curtis _was_ tired and would get even less sleep than usually. So he obliged, ate some of the dried meat he had left and then went off to sleep.

\----------

“You are worried,” Richard noted as he sat down next to Gavin. They sat next to a broken window that let the light of the crescent-shaped moon into the run-down room.

“I'm always worried,” Gavin sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“I know,” Richard answered, rolling his eyes. “But even more so than usual.” He hesitated for a second, before suggesting, “If there's a reason, feel free to talk about it.”

Gavin took a deep breath, pondering. But he figured they had spent enough time sharing stories, that this might as well be one of them.

“The last time I stayed in a city like this,” he began, fiddling with a loose thread of his jacket. “I was with the group that took us to the Fireflies. When we searched the area, we couldn't find a sign of neither infected, nor humans.” He shrugged. “We thought it was safe.”

A short break followed, but Richard didn't interrupt it. He didn't feel like he had to.

“We went to sleep, thinking we would be fine. But somewhere in the middle of the night we were woken up by someone trying to break our barricade.”

Gavin looked up to the ceiling. The room they had stayed in hadn't been too different to this one. Second floor, a broken window. A door that looked secure and a barricade they had been used to build up. And yet they managed to break through.

“We took our stuff and ran as fast as we could. They chased us through the city, As if we were prey to them. As we were searching for cover, we ran right into their trap. It was a warehouse, I think. There was a large hall in it, with shelves to the left and right. When we entered, we were overrun by a massive amount of infected.”

Gavin's throat got hoarse, the painful memory burning into his tongue.

“Barely half of us made it out alive. We hurried and made our way out of there as quickly as we could.”

Richard shook his head. “It's terrible, how cruel humans can be. I'm sorry you had to go through this,” he said very quietly. Gavin's memory had struck a nerve. He didn't want to admit it, but his people hadn't been that much different. Whenever they saw a Wolf, they were dead. When a stranger passed through the city, they were dead. When someone went against their morals or expectations, they were dead. If necessary they, too, would hunt them down.

“I appreciate the sentiment,” Gavin interrupted his thoughts. He didn't look at Richard, still fiddling with the loose thread. “I'm not painting myself as innocent,” he added slowly. “I, too, was cruel. I, too, have committed crimes that no one can ever forgive. But I tried being merciful, whenever I could, after this.”

He looked up at Richard this time, tears in his eyes. “Because no one deserves to feel the fear that I have felt that night.”

Richard wanted to say something to that. He _needed_ to say something to that. But he didn't know what and when he finally opened his mouth, he got interrupted by the sound of an engine coming closer.

They both shared an alarmed look, before getting up quickly and carefully looking out of the window. There was a car coming from a dark alley, with several dark silhouettes on them. The lights were turned off, probably in hopes of being less detectable.

When they passed through the moonlight, Gavin audibly went, “What the fuck?”, making Richard turn his head in confusion.

Gavin pointed towards the side of the vehicle that wasn't visible for Richard. “There's a Firefly-graffiti on the door of that truck.”  
Richard furrowed his brows, even more confused, “I thought the Fireflies were dead?”

Gavin shrugged, “I thought so, too. After what happened at St. Mary's, our leaders were dead and the hopes of a cure were gone. The Fireflies had no chance of surviving.”

“You think they're forming again?”

“Well, either that or someone stole a truck in Boston and brought it all the way here.”

Richard took another peek at the vehicle that had come to a halt in another alley, next to what looked like an old cinema. “I don't know about you,” he said hastily. “But I think we should get out of here.”

They both watched the group disappear in the building across the street, before gathering up their things and waking up Curtis, urging him to follow them. When they arrived at the entrance they had gone through, the group was still gone.

“Where should we go?” Richard asked in a hushed voice.

“We can't go backwards. If they come out, facing our direction, they will see us immediately,” Gavin answered quickly. He searched their surroundings, trying to come up with a plan, but he could only find one – one that he definitely didn't like. Sighing, he said, “I think our best shot is to go the way they came from and hope they aren't done with their...inspection, or whatever it is. We can take the other houses as cover.”

Curtis and Richard nodded, waiting for Gavin's sign. Then they practically sprinted from one house to another, trying to make as little noise as possible.

“You know we could walk directly into their open arms, if that's the direction their base is in, correct?” Richard whispered into his ear, when they came to a halt at the next corner. And yes, Gavin knew that. But he figured they had to get past it somehow, anyway, so maybe it would give them some sort of upper hand to know where exactly it was located.

But maybe was still far too vague.

“Can we talk about that later?” Curtis whispered alarmed, while peeking around the corner. “They are coming into our direction.”

All three of them pressed themselves as close to the wall as possible, as the truck passed them. There were more people on it now, but they definitely didn't look like they belonged to (what Gavin believed to be) the Fireflies. They looked more like…“Are they using the cinema as a prison?” Curtis finished Gavin's thoughts.

“But where are they bringing them?” Richard asked. When the truck drove out of their view, into a different direction than it came from, They hurried to get across the street into the alleyway closest to them.

They hadn't even crossed half of the street, when they suddenly heard a voice go, “Hey, who are you?”

All three of them looked into the direction of the voice and spotted to figures. One of them was big and bulky, while the other was more of a leek. Nevertheless, none of them wanted to get to know either of them.

“Run,” Gavin whispered and they took off into the alley.

They faintly heard both of them shouting different things – one of them towards what Gavin assumed was their other members, while the other commanded them to stop. But they definitely wouldn't do so willingly. They passed several other alleys and dark streets, trying to get as much space between them and The Others as possible.

When he slid around the next bend, however, Gavin ran into something hard, probably metal. It pressed all the air out of his lungs and made it hard for him to breathe. There were little stars at the edge of his vision, as he went down on his knees, pressing his arm against the aching spot.

“Dad!” Curtis almost screamed, coming to an abrupt halt next to him. Gavin couldn't concentrate on him right now, though. He tried too hard to focus on breathing and not passing out.

“Away from him,” a high-pitched but steady voice commanded. “And hands on the back of your head.”  
He barely noticed how Curtis got a couple inches away from him, probably to where Richard was standing – hopefully to where Richard was standing.

When Gavin looked up, The Voice and two others approached their little group, guns pointed at them. He faintly registered The Voice commanding his companions to go down on their knees, before asking, “Who are you?”

“Travelers,” Richard answered. “We're just passing through.”

“Where are you heading to?” their voice was surprisingly dark this time.

“East,” Richard figured they didn't have to know that it was technically south-east. The less they knew, the less of a threat they could be.

“What do you want here?”

“As I said: We're just passing through. We're not here to make friends.”

The Voice huffed scornfully. “Very funny.” They paused as hurried footsteps were coming closer. They weren't exactly running, but they weren't taking a stroll either. Gavin could hear The Voice take a step back, probably for one of their higher-ups.

Shortly after he could hear another voice, “What do you have?” They sounded very feminine, but Gavin wasn't so sure.

“Travelers they say. Passing through.”

“Anything important? Anything of value?”

“Nothing notable, no,” they said clinically. “What are we supposed to do with them?”

There was a moment of hesitation, a pause, that let Gavin hope to just be let go.

His expectations were disappointed. “Shoot them,” he heard the second voice say, cold and finite.

Somewhere between Curtis' and Richard's objections, The Voice from before sounded shocked this time, “Are you sure, sir? They don't seem to-”

So Gavin had been wrong after all.

“Yes, I am,” he interrupted them. “Start with the boy. It'll make it easier.”

After the footsteps had disappeared again, there was a hushed conversation between the remaining three soldiers. Gavin's dizziness had disappeared for the most part – now he just wanted to throw up, honestly.

Richard and Curtis had also gotten into a heated argument, half worried about Gavin, who hadn't responded at all, half alarmed on how they could get out of this.

Gavin knew that they couldn't. There was a possibility they would just let them go against their orders, but that possibility was extremely remote. But then there was another way, but it was risky – for every single one of them. And he didn't know how he would get them out of _that_ afterwards.

But when they dragged Curtis away from them, and all he wanted to do is reach for their throat, he knew there was no other way.

“You don't want to do that,” he said very quietly and very desperate.

“I have my orders,” was all they answered, pointing the gun to Curtis' temple.

“I know, but you really don't want to do that.”

Confused, they took the gun away from Curtis' head, who let out a cry of relief. “Why?” they simply asked, taking a step in his direction.

Gavin got up, painfully slow, putting his hands behind his head. His heart was beating rapidly against his chest and his blood was rushing in his ears. With closed eyes, he whispered, “He's immune.”

“What?!” said everyone simultaneously, in various degrees of confusion, disbelief and shock.

“He's immune!” Gavin said again, louder this time.

“Nonsense!” The Voice said, almost disgusted. “The only immune person ever known almost caused the Fireflies to vanish.”

“There's a bite mark on his lower left leg. He got bitten when he was four and we were chased by a bunch of infected,” he explained exhausted.

The Voice and their companions looked at each other, looked at their little group and then urged them to get up. “You're very lucky today,” said the soldier guiding Richard towards the direction the second guy vanished into.

“Or very much in trouble,” continued The Voice, taking Curtis by his upper arm. “Off to the basis,” they commanded their companions and off they went, into the unknown.

\----------

Gavin kicked against the metal gate in front of him. After a lot of fighting and a couple of bruises and almost broken ribs later, he and Richard had been thrown into a stable-like prison. They had been brought in through a wide, open gate. The building was a tall one, three or four stories high. They would have to search for ages to find Curtis in it.

Gavin slid down the wall, putting his face in his hands. Richard looked at him from the other side of the room, half judging, half pitying him. After a while he sat down across him. “Did Curtis know?” was all he asked, as soon as Gavin looked at him again.

Gavin shook his head. “Not at all,” he said exhausted, always exhausted. “I didn't know how. He got bitten during our escape in the warehouse. I didn't notice it immediately, only a couple of days later. He should've turned insane by then, but he didn't. So I kept it hidden from the others, until we arrived at the Firefly's base.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Even there, I only told the higher-ups. They did tests and all this…science-y stuff, but nothing ever really came of it. I mean, they proved he was immune to the Cordiceps, but they couldn't figure out how, nor could they build up some kind of cure.”

He got up again, stalking through the room. “They already started talking about an operation, but then Marlene talked about another kid who was immune and they decided to try it on her instead. I had already made plans to just run away with Curtis, in case they still wouldn't get any results and wanted to do further…experiments or tests, whatever you want to call it.”

He stopped, breathing in deeply. But, well- that problem kinda vanished when the Fireflies were wiped out. When we went to live with the WLF, nobody really asked and when they did, I told them it was a dog.”

He messed up his own hair, fed up with the world, fed up with the fireflies, but mostly – fed up with himself. “I did everything I ever could, to keep him safe,” he desperately pressed out, close to tears. “And it still didn't work! If I only-”

“Gavin,” Richard tried to interrupt him softly, but he barely heard it.

“If I only had done things different, if I had left earlier, if I had never-”

“Gavin!” suddenly Richard was in front of him, holding his face. “You need to breathe.” He waited, until Gavin had taken some deep, calming breaths. If he had learned anything as a priest, then that hectic never brought much in any situation.

“Very good,” he noted with a little cheeky smile. He put down his hands to Gavins shoulders, catching his gaze. “We've come this far. We're gonna get out of here, and then we're gonna find Curtis. We will leave, almost unharmed and everything's going to turn out fine, you hear me?”

Gavin nodded, only halfway convinced. But he wanted to believe him, and that was enough for Richard. He pulled him into a short, but tight embrace. “Freaking out doesn't help us right now,” he stated, before letting Gavin go. “They will not hurt him, he's too valuable for them.” He looked around and quietly added, “We just need to get out of here.”

“Gavin? Hey, Gavin!” The two men turned to a voice that suddenly chimed up at the gates. A woman was standing there, a tall one at that. Richard raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment on it.

“Jordan?” Gavin asked dumbfounded, approaching her cautiously. He hadn't seen her since the Fireflies had vanished. Back then they were pretty close, Gavin would've called her one of his best friends, if asked. He could always be sure that she had his back and vice versa.

“Shit, I knew it had to be you.” Her voice was pleasant, very calm. Almost like a story-teller. Richard couldn't figure out how she would fit into all of this. “I saw some of the others dragging Curtis into the upper floors. What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Gavin answered, grasping the metallic bars in front of him. “I thought you were killed during the massacre.”

“I wasn't in that day. I was supposed to do something for Marlene. But that isn't important right now.” The two men watched her fiddling with some keys, before opening the gates, stepping to the side to let them through.

“Are you sure about this?” Gavin asked her, already half on his way out. It was more a matter of politeness, than a real question. He knew that Jordan hadn't done this, if she wouldn't have thought it through completely.

“You saved my ass more than once,” she said, somewhat annoyed. “Let me save yours now. You'll find Curtis on the second floor. Take the emergency stairs outside of the building. They shouldn't see you coming from there – or going, for the matter. One of the windows should be open, if not, there is a key for the door, under the loose part of a windowsill.”

She talked too quickly and had to breathe in deep once, before continuing, “If you're in the room, head out, but beware of the two or three guards outside. Take them down, then get Curtis from the room directly at the stairs and make your way out through the window again. Then just run as fast and far as possible.”

Gavin smiled gratefully, but hesitated. “They probably did tests. They won't just let us go as soon as Curtis' immunity is proven. They will hunt us down, if they have to.”

“Don't worry about that,” she said nonchalantly, taking a club from her belt. “Me and Tristan swapped the samples. There will be no immunity to prove.”

“Tristan is here, too?” Back then Tristan and Jordan had been inseparable. They were always very cautious about what to tell about their past, but Gavin knew that they had joined the Fireflies together, after going through some serious shit. Even more serious than a global pandemic.

Jordan rolled her eyes. “Yes, he is. I'll tell him you said hi. Now knock me unconscious and lock me in the cell so they won't lynch me for letting you go.”

Gavin hugged her clumsily, taking the club from her hands. “Thank you, Jordan.”

“You're welcome. Now save your boy and make it hurt.”

Gavin raised the club with an apology – and swung it straight at her head.

\----------

They entered the second floor through the window, just as Jordan had told them. Peeking through the door, the floor was mostly clear, apart from the two guards standing besides a door next to the stairs.

“That must be the door Jordan was speaking about,” Richard whispered into his ear and Gavin nodded. So that's where they had to go. Was just one question left: How would they manage to get in there?

_Should've thought about that before breaking in, dumbass_ , Gavin thought, but now the child had already fallen into the well. Gavin looked around, spotting another door slightly to the left on the opposite side of the floor. It was white, with a golden handle and stucco on the bottom. “Hey, see that door right there?” he said, pointing towards it.

Richard followed the direction he was given. “I do” he answered, both eyebrows raised. “But what are you planning to do with it?”

“One of us is going to get in there, slam it shut, hopefully at least one of them is going to look what is wrong, and we can knock him out in there. Whoever stays here, is taking care of the other one.”

“Since you are better at sneaking up on people,” Richard suggested. “I would say I take care of the guy who's coming into that door.”

Gavin wanted to object, but he couldn't argue with that. Richard wasn't exactly an expert when it came to sneaking and tactics. So he just nodded, and the show began.

Gavin retreated a bit, not enough to lose sight of the door, but enough to be able to hide from whoever came their direction.

Pleasantly surprised, Gavin noticed that _both_ of the bodyguards went to check after the noise. That way he wouldn't have to sneak up on the one remaining, which would have been difficult, if he was honest. There wasn't really a possibility to hide and he didn't really have an idea how to distract him enough to face into the other direction. There was only a wall, so not much to see there.

He heard a dull serve and a muffled protest and took it as his sign to creep in behind them, working as a back-up for Richard. He hit the head of the one closer to him with the handle of his gun, sending him straight to the floor. When he looked up at Richard, the latter looked down on the Fireflies in disgust.

“They were dumb. Incredibly so,” he said, almost sounding disappointed.

Gavin snorted. “Yeah, obviously.” There was a small pause, full of shared amusement, before he again suggested, “Let's get out of here. We've been here too long for my liking.”

They left the room and closed the door as quiet as possible. Never again did Gavin want to see a white door like that. He would smash it to pieces in less than five seconds.

“Dad?”, Curtis said, relieved and worried altogether. There was a bruise on his cheek, that made Gavin furious, but he would deal with that anger later. At least he didn't feel so bad about knocking the guys out in the other room.

He loosened the restraints around his hands and hugged his son quickly, after checking if he was okay – or as okay as he could be, at least.

Afterwards they hurried to leave this place as fast as they got in.

As they passed one of the windows near the stable-cellar-construction, they heard someone call out for Jordan, but they were gone, before the real ruckus started.

* * *

_Day 57 Of Being On Their Own._

Gavin was worried about Curtis. He was always worried about him, but never like that. Since they fled from the Fireflies, the boy had been too quiet for his liking.

“You should talk to him,” Richard quietly said as he came to a halt beside him.

Gavin looked up at his son, who had sat down on a tree that had fallen over a long time ago. Moss was growing on it, dark and damp, with a few mushrooms growing on top of it. “I know,” he answered after a moment of hesitation. “But how?”

Richard shrugged. “Just try. You're not as much of an idiot as you pretend to be.” He looked down on Gavin. “At least not when it comes to him.”

Gavin didn't comment on that, just took a deep breath, catching up to his son. He sat down next to his son, strangely at a loss of words. He put down his backpack, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “How are you doing?”

Curtis snorted. “You wouldn't believe me if I said _Yeah, I'm fine, why you asking?_ , would you?”

Gavin chuckled awkwardly. “No, not really.”

Curtis sighed deeply and remained silent for a while. Gavin listened to the birds and the buzzing of the bugs around him, giving his best to remain patient. He was relieved, when Curtis finally answered, “I'm not fine. I'm actually kind of really fucking miserable.”

Gavin watched him fiddle with a lose thread on his jacket for a while. He didn't wanna pressure him to talk, if he didn't want to.

“I don't know what to say,” he said at last, but very, very quietly. He mirrored his father by crossing his arms in front of his chest and shrugged. “Maybe I just- I don't know, feel guilty for whatever happened.”

Furrowing his brows, Gavin turned towards Curtis, as to have a better look on him. “How's that?”

He sighed again, desperately this time, before admitting, “I could've helped humanity. There's people dying, getting infected every day. And I could help them.”

“Are you- would you rather have it different? That I would've let them take you with them?” Gavin asked, but couldn't look at him. He was scared of the answer. He knew his decision was selfish and that he should've let Curtis decide. But he just couldn't, not after what happened to his wife.

Curtis shook his head slowly, as if he felt pain doing it. “No,” he said. “I,” – he took a deep breath – “You did the right thing, dad.” Curtis' eyes were stuck to the ground as he continued. “It might be selfish and irresponsible, but…I don't want to die, dad. Not even for the sake of humanity.”

Gavin smiled, putting an arm around his son. “It might be selfish,” he said, knowing very well he poked into an open wound. “But that doesn't mean you're not allowed to make this decision. It's your life and you're allowed to protect it.”

He saw a small, barely convinced smile appearing on Curtis' face. He might not fully believe his words now, but he would one day, and that was enough for Gavin. He pulled him tighter for a moment, before jumping off the tree. “Let's go home, champ.”


	8. After

_Day 73 Of Being On Their Own._

When they left the forest and stumbled on a field, Gavin laid his head back, breathing in deep. They stood upon a hill, looking into a valley. It looked as if the outbreak had never effected this part of the country.

“That's it,” Gavin said, pointing at the small city at the foot of the hill. He grinned, ridiculously happy. “And it hasn't changed that much either.” He sighed. “I hope I can say that for the people, too.”

When Richard came to a halt next to him, he raised his eyebrows in astonishment. “Wow,” he said in awe. “You know, when you talked about it, it always kinda sounded like a dream to me.” He took a deep breath. “But I stand corrected.”

Curtis stood next to Gavin, smiling contently. “So, we're finally done with running away?”

Gavin nodded, “They'll just have to let us in.”

“You think they could send us away?” Curtis asked, worry in his eyes.

Gavin shook his head. “Nah, not really.”

“What are we waiting for, then?” was all Curtis answered, before running into the field. Gavin followed him on his heels. Richard rolled his eyes, before going after them.

The three of them slowed down as they saw two riders approach. They were talking to each other, a woman and a younger boy. Gavin smiled, taking the lead towards them, as he recognized Maya being one of them. The other one was one of the older boys, who Gavin had known before he left. His features were vaguely familiar and Gavin figured it must be Robert or Caya. They had always resembled their father more than they liked to.

“Aren't you supposed to watch out on patrols?” Gavin asked, getting closer to the two well-known faces. Maya turned her head, her eyes widening in disbelief.

“Holy shit, Gavin, is that you?” she got off her horse quickly, running up to him and pulling him into a hug, laughing.

Gavin echoed her laughter, pulling her closer. “Good to know you still recognize me.”

She playfully hit his arm, after letting him go. “I'd recognize this stupid face from a hundred miles away.”

“Charming as ever,” he replied, still smiling like an idiot. “Damn, I missed you.”

“Aw,” she said, hugging him again. “I missed you, too, idiot.”

After she let go, she approached Curtis. Ruffling his hair, she said, “You have to be Curtis then. Kinda remember you a lot smaller, though.”

He gently took her hand from his head, smiling up at her. “Well, that's kinda the point in growing up,” he said jokingly. “It's nice to meet you...again.”

Gavin had often told him stories about his life at home. Especially when he was younger and wanted a bedtime story, to help him fall asleep. Curtis had struggled with being at a new place and Gavin was pretty successful in calming him down that way. Maya had often been one of the main characters in them.

“And who is this handsome lad?” she then asked, walking up to Richard, who had been standing by the side for a while.

“I'm Richard. Pleasure to meet you,” he answered, extending his hand. She took it with a smile, shaking it.

“I'm Maya, nice to meet you, Richard.”

She excitedly turned back to Gavin, clasping her hands together. “We have to get you to Erin and Tina! They will be absolutely _thrilled_ to welcome you back!”

Maya led them back to her horse, taking the rains from her companion, who had dismounted his horse, as well. “Hey, Caya, you remember Gavin?” Gavin heard her say to the boy. So he had been right, after all. The boy raised his hand and waved to the group.

“Sure,” he answered. “But not as well as you, I suppose.” He shook Gavin's hand. “Still nice to have you back.” Caya turned back to Maya. “Should I go on alone? We can't let the patrol slide like that.”

She nodded carefully. “If you think you can handle it. But not even a scratch, you hear me?” she warned him, pointing a finger at him. “Your mom almost fainted last time.”

Caya laughed. “Aye, captain.”

He got up on his horse and went on his way.  
  


* * *

  
Walking back to the city, Maya and Gavin led the way, while Richard and Curtis followed them. Gavin tried to catch up what he had missed and Maya was happy to share with him anything she could.

“Nervous?” Richard asked quietly, looking at Curtis. The boy had been pretty quiet since they had met Maya, even though he had been pretty excited beforehand.

Curtis shrugged. “I don't know what's going to happen,” he said, rubbing his nose. “These people are going to pretend they know me, aren't they?” he asked, looking up at Richard. “Even though I have about zero clue who they are.”

Richard had to smile. He didn't have to say it out loud, but Curtis was right. People tended to cling to memories, rather than starting from the beginning. He had an advantage here – he was a stranger. He knew Gavin would find his place pretty fast again. Even though people might have changed, their routines didn't seem to have. Curtis, however, was something different. He wasn't exactly a stranger, and yet he was. Those people had known him before and even though he was barely a personality back then, he hoped they would give him the chance to introduce himself again, as the person he was now.

“Some of them probably will, yes,” he still answered with a sigh. “But some of them might not. Especially the ones your age, who barely remember the two of you.” He put a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. “Don't worry. It's gonna be fine.”

When they arrived at the wall, an older man bend himself over the barrier. “Maya!” he shouted, uncertainty in his voice. “Did something happen? Where's Caya?”

She raised her hand to wave him. “Everything's fine, Carlos!” she answered. “Just took in some strays!”

The man narrowed his eyes, as if he couldn't trust what he saw. “Wait a minute, is that our lost boy?”

“He's still calling me that?”

Carlos laughed a loud, obnoxious yet strangely soothing laugh. “You should know I'm not simply stopping what I began!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Maya interrupted, slightly annoyed. “Can you just let us in? I need to bring him to Erin and Tina. Afterwards I'm going to catch up to Caya, if it helps you sleep at night.”

The older man laughed once again, before opening the doors and greeting them properly. As they stepped inside, the people surrounding them turned their heads. Some of them opened their mouths in disbelief, others started laughing hysterically, while the normal ones just greeted them, as if they had never been gone.

Richard was pleasantly surprised they just took him in without a hassle. As soon as Gavin told them he was with them, no further questions were asked. He didn't know if he should take that as a good sign, or a bad sign.

Maya didn't leave him enough time to overthink the whole thing, as she urged them forwards. She led them towards one of the few bigger buildings. Light was shining through the windows and the people inside seemed to be busy – even more so, than the rest of them. When they stepped inside, they came into a bigger hall, with a reception desk on the left and elevators to the right. Directly next to the reception was a staircase, leading into the upper floors. It was surprisingly quiet down here, only a few people sitting in a corner next to the elevators.

Richard noticed with astonishment they were standing in a hospital.

“Come on,” Maya said, walking up to the reception. A woman was sitting there, her black hair tied up into a ponytail. She smiled friendly at the person in front of her. Maya hesitated for a second until the person was gone, then she approached her, leaning over the counter.

“Hello, deer friend,” she said sweet as sugar. “How are you on this lovely day?”

“Pretty decent,” she answered with a sigh, obviously exhausted. Then she furrowed her brows, before looking at the watch around her wrist. “Aren't you supposed to be on patrol right now?”

“Yeah, I was already on my way, but then I found something that might interest you.”

Gavin propped himself on the counter, smiling. “Hi, Tina, what's poppin?”

Tina gasped, rising from her chair. “You fucking asshole!” She went around the back of the counter, pulling him into a tight embrace that made it hard for him to breathe. After she let go, she punched him on the chest, but she didn't really want it to hurt. “A little warning would've been nice.”

Gavin chuckled amused. “Well, writing an E-Mail was kinda out of question, you know.”

She rolled her eyes, only half annoyed. She was happy that he was back, even though it was unexpected. Sighing, she swung her arms a little. “So, where's the short one?”

Gavin pointed to a spot behind her. “Right behind you,” he said, smiling at her behaviour. “And that's Richard.”

Tina turned around on the spot, greeting them. She had always been a stranger-friendly person, so Gavin had no doubt that she was happy to meet Richard. He had wondered how she would react to Curtis, however.

After Nadya and Valerie had died, Tina spent a lot of time with Gavin and Curtis. They shared the same hurt and caught each other, keeping one another from falling apart. She had always been close to Gavin, but back then she became family.

“Hey, Tina, I know you're as happy as a Teletubbie right now,” Maya interrupted her in her joy, tapping her on the shoulder. “But can you tell us where Erin is stationed today? I'd like to surprise him, before someone spills the news.”

Tina nodded. “Sure, let's go.”

She led the way up the stairs, into the first floor. It was quiet here, more quiet than Richard had expected. They went through the room silently, Tina looking into every single one of the niches, signaling them to stop, when she found Erin in one of them. “Hey, buddy,” she warbled, approaching him with her hands crossed behind her back.

“Oh, what do you want?” he said, slightly fed up. He knew that tone all too well, knowing that she wanted something from him. Either something about his job, that was incredibly inconvenient for his schedule, or a personal favour.

“Nothing,” she said, sounding like an innocent country girl. “Someone wants to see you. They said it's urgent, I hope you got a minute?” It was more of an order, than a question. But Tina had the feeling that most people were more cooperative when she put a question mark at the end of a sentence.

He sighed. “Okay, fine.”

He put down the clipboard in his hand, walking around the corner. “You didn't say- holy fuck,” he stopped in his tracks, placing a hand on his heart. He didn't know if he should be pleasantly surprised, completely excited or damn mad that they almost gave him a heartattack.

“Couldn't you have mentioned that?” he threw Tina an accusing look, but went up to Gavin to give him one of these manly handshakes they had done when Gavin was still living in their community. He ruffled Curtis' hair after introducing himself, before turning to Richard.

“Your face is new,” he said, looking him up and down. Looking over to Gavin, he said, “A new partner, I assume?”

“Uuh,” Gavin was at a loss of words for a very short second. “We met in Seattle and took him in.”

“Seattle?” Tina asked surprised. “I thought you were on your way to Boston.”

Gavin sighed, nodding slightly. “Yeah, I was there at first. But it kinda didn't work out. Let's discuss that elsewhere.”

Erin agreed. “My shift is over in 30 Minutes. Let's meet up in your house, then?”

Tina nodded. “Good idea,” she said enthusiastically. “I should've been out half an our ago, so I can bring you there.”

“Good, I should get going,” Maya chimed in. “Caya's Mom will flip, if she finds out he's alone out there. But you're gonna keep me updated afterwards, aren't you?” She threw Gavin a serious look and wouldn't leave, until he promised her to tell her everything as soon as she was back. Then she left in a hurry.

“Okay, let's go then. See you later, Erin,” Tina said afterwards, waving at Erin. He told them to take care and then got back to work.

* * *

When they arrived at Gavin's old house, he stopped in his tracks by the fence leading to their front garden. “I somehow can't believe it's still standing,” he said in awe. Barely anything had changed. Not even the flowers in the boxes on the windows.

“Me and Maya took it on ourselves to keep it that way,” Tina admitted silently. “I somehow have the feeling she wanted you back just as much as I did.” She sighed, after a short silence, pushing him further. “Come on, let's get inside. I need a Coffee.”

“There's Coffee in my house?” Gavin asked, turning around. He didn't stop, simply moving on backwards. He could see Curtis' amused smile and noticed Richard raising an eyebrow.

Tina laid her head back, looking into the nightsky. “Well,” she stretched the word like a chewing gum, “Me and Maya thought that when you come back – and _yes_ , we were totally convinced you would miss us too much at some point – Coffee would be one of the things you missed the most.”

“You were definitely not wrong with that,” Curtis chimed in, catching up to Tina. “You should've heard how often he complained about not having good Coffee.” He threw Gavin a cheeky look, laughing when he stuck out his tongue. Tina and Richard joined in with his laughter.

As they entered the house, the group got quiet. Gavin let out a silent sigh, finally feeling at home again. It seemed as though time had stopped here. He remembered everything looking just the same. The small cabinet in the hall, the pictures on the wall. The door to his left was closed, but he knew the living room would be there.

He went straight forward into the kitchen, because Tina was right: He did want Coffee. Gavin rarely had some when he was with the Fireflies, that's when he had complained about it the most. When he was with the Wolves, they did have Coffee, even though it was the worst he had ever had. But the Coffee in his home had always been marvelous, especially in the early morning hours.

He opened the kitchen door with a creak, Tina directly behind him. “We didn't change too much,” she said, almost apologetically. “But some things had to be exchanged at one point.”  
“It's okay,” Gavin answered, turning on the lights. “You can't stop time. It still feels like home.”

“I'm glad,” is all she said, before stepping to the side. “Hey, Richard? Could you handle the Coffee? I have to show Curtis something.”

Richard nodded, passing her to get into the kitchen. Gavin raised an eyebrow at him. “It's just Coffee, Gavin,” he said amused. “I think I'll manage.”

Gavin shrugged, following Tina and Curtis upstairs. They passed the parent's bedroom, entering a smaller room across from it.

When Curtis entered, he was left in awe. It wasn't much – just a bed in one of the corners and a desk on the opposite end, a shelf full of books above it and a wardrobe next to it – but it was apparently his and more than he ever had owned so far. He took a couple of steps inside, looking up at the walls, where stars were beginning to glow in the dimly lit room.

“This is mine?” he asked Tina in disbelief.

Tina shrugged. “It isn't much, but we thought it should be more adequate for your age.” She pointed at the stars behind him. “When you were a kid you loved to look at the nightsky, so we put them up in hope the interest would stick.”

Curtis nodded, smiling. “Yeah, definitely. I can't thank you enough, Tina.”

“It's fine. I'm just glad you like it.” She breathed in deeply, relieved. “Okay, then,” she said. “Let's go downstairs. Erin will be here shortly, and then we're gonna talk.”

Gavin nodded, and when Erin arrived, they talked.

* * *

A couple of days later, Curtis and Gavin were walking up the street to their house. They had more or less become part of the community again, which Gavin was more than happy about. It was almost as if he had never been gone.

Some of his former friends, on the other hand, were. Some died, some had left to their own accord. But it wasn't near as many, as he had expected.

“Why won't you just ask him to stay?” Curtis said, eating some of the raisins he held in his hand.

“Because he didn't express that he wanted to and I will not force him to.”

Curtis threw him a fed up look. “I bet he would stay for you.”

Gavin stopped in his tracks. “Can you just stop acting like you know what's best for me?” he asked, unamused. “You're thirteen! You should be ignorant to everything that doesn't concern yourself.”

He scoffed. “You know that this obviously has to do something with me?”

“Oh? How so?” there was mockery in Gavin's tone, before he took a bite from the apple in his hand.

“Well, first of all, I'd like my step-parent to be someone I actually like,” he answered, eating the rest of his raisins. “And second of all, I'd miss him, too.”  
“So why don't you ask him to stay?” Gavin asked, continuing on his way.

“Because he won't stay solely for me. And you both seem to be absolutely incapable of asking someone out. So, I'm helping a bit.”

“I do not need you help figuring out my romances, thank you very much.”

“You clearly do-”

“Gavin! Curtis!” The duo almost jumped when they heard Richard call out for them. They turned around, facing him, watching him as he ran toward them. When he came to a halt in front of them, he was only slightly out of breath. Or he was very good at hiding it, who knew.

“Hey, Richard,” Curtis said. “What's up?”

He had a serious look on his face, which never meant anything good. “I, uh, have been searching for you. We need to talk.”

“Oh, really?” Gavin asked, swallowing the last bit of apple in his mouth. “About what?”

“I, uh, have decided to leave tonight.”

Both Gavin and Curtis raised their eyebrows, speaking simultaneously, “Oh.”

“Why the rush?” Gavin continued, not really knowing what to expect.

“There is a group of people passing by,” Richard explained. “They said I should go with them, if I really wanted to leave. Besides,” he took a deep breath, trying to smile. “I can't crash on your couch forever.”

There was an awkward silence afterwards. Neither of them really knew what to say, until Curtis opened his mouth and said, “Dad wants to ask you something.” Before sprinting off into a side street leading to Tina's house.

“Hey, Curtis, you little-” Gavin cussed, but interrupted himself. When he looked back at Richard, he had raised an eyebrow, coming a bit closer to him.

“What is he talking about?” he asked, stopping when he was only an arm's reach far from Gavin.

“Uuuuuuuuuh,” Gavin took another bite from his apple, buying himself some time. Richard rolled his eyes, taking the apple out of his hand, stealing his last way to escape the situation. He kinda wanted to strangle his son, but he wouldn't say that out loud.

“Gavin, just ask. I'm not going to rip your head off.”

Gavin groaned, laying his head back and crossing his hands behind his neck. He sighed, closing his eyes. “Do you actually want to leave?” he asked, looking at him with uncertainty in his eyes.

Richard furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?” he asked, subconsciously taking a bite from the apple in his hand.

Gavin made a sound of disapproval. He wasn't good with showing emotions. He wasn't good with expressing what he wanted. “I mean-” he faltered. “You could stay,” he continued quietly. “If you wanted to.”

Richard laid his head to the side, pondering. “Do you want me to stay?”

There was another silence. But it was less awkward this time. More like something soft had settled between them. Like a blanket of snow in a winter's night or a bunch of cotton-candy-clouds in a summer's day.

At last, Gavin said softly, “Yeah, kind of.”

Richard extended his arm, took his hand and placed the apple back in it. “Guess I'll stay, then,” he said with a grin.

Gavin looked at him in disbelief. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah, sure, why not?”

Gavin began laughing then, hugging him out of reflex. “That- That's great, I mean-,” he took a step back, running his fingers through his hair. He breathed one exceptionally long breath, trying to get his laughter under control. “That's great. Thank you.”

Richard chuckled slightly. “Maya is right,” he said, pulling Gavin back in and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “You _are_ an idiot.”

They heard Curtis celebrating in some distance and turned their heads towards him. Richard noticed he was standing there happier than ever, with the goofiest smile he had seen on the boy so far. Grinning, he said, “I think you want to go after your son now, for putting you against a wall.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. I, uh, see you at home, then?”

Richard laughed as Gavin took after his son, who fled with a worried expression on his face. Shaking his head, he couldn't keep the smile off his face. Quietly he whispered to himself, “See you at home, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya there!
> 
> We have at last reached the end and I'm so  
> excited about these two chapters. Especially  
> the previous one held a lot of information,  
> but I hope despite that you were ablte to  
> enjoy it.  
> It has been an amazing experience to  
> participate in an RBB. I'm absolutely  
> grateful I could work with someone as  
> talented as my partner.
> 
> I hope y'all liked the ride, let me know what  
> you think!
> 
> Kiko

**Author's Note:**

> Heya, there!
> 
> I'm incredibly excited to finally present my work for the RBB,   
> based on the amazing artwork of @egooppidum (on Twitter).  
> Due to spoilers I unfortunately couldn't post it this time, but   
> she has been an absolute delight to work with and I can't wait  
> to share her art with you!
> 
> I hope you're having fun with the first chapter(s), let me know   
> what you think!
> 
> Kiko.


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